Megachurch Pastor Mark Smith Who Church Leaders Hired as 'God's Man' Quits After Just 18 Months
Just 18 months ago, in an announcement that they had hired Mark Smith to be their new senior pastor, top officials at the First Baptist Jackson Church in Mississippi said they had fallen "in love" and described him as God's man and "God's will" for the job. In a surprising turn of events this week, however, Smith abruptly quit, declaring in his rejection of the job that he is not the man for their church.
"After prayer, meeting with others, seeking counsel from the church staff, and study, [Smith] senses he is not the man to lead First Jackson into the future," a press release from the church read.
These sentiments are a sharp departure from the excitement and Godly conviction Sam Peeples, chairman of the nine-member pastor search committee that unanimously recommended Smith's hiring publicly shared with the congregation in a report on his hiring in September 2013.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"We loved his humility, discernment, and sensitivity. We continued to evaluate other candidates and we were praying fervently. One day as I was driving to work, I was asking God to reveal His man to us. I felt a strong impression of God saying, 'Sam, I've already answered your prayer.' I guarded these thoughts in my heart but I did share them with the committee. We continued to pray. We visited his church and invited him back to Jackson for several other meetings," wrote Peeples in the report.
"As opposed to previous candidates where we had a growing sense of unease the farther we went, in this case we had a growing sense of peace. This peace and conviction of God's will continued to grow as we checked references and completed other due diligence. We have had numerous, in depth discussions of theology, leadership philosophy, spiritual vision, and the like. We fell in love with him even more. The entire committee agrees that God has answered our prayer and has given us a man who loves God, loves people, loves God's word, and loves building God's kingdom. He is a man after God's own heart," the report continued.
What exactly brought an end to the lovefest between Smith and his congregation remains unclear.
In the press release announcing Smith's decision, he said that people are "gifted by God for certain tasks, and given experiences in life that prepare us and educate us for those tasks. You need and deserve a pastor who possesses the skills to move you confidently and boldly into the future."
The announcement caught some church members off guard.
Cornelia Bullock, a follower of the church, publicly wondered on the church's Facebook page about Smith's resignation, noting that it had come without warning.
The Christian Post reached out to the nine members of the pastoral search committee — Sam Peeples,
Brad Antici, Paul Calhoun, Larry Johnson, Jackie Meck, Beverly Shelton, Ann Southerland, Marla Speed and
Thomas Wiley — who unanimously recommended Smith for the job to comment on his surprising announcement. Only one of them, Wiley, responded through his wife, who said: "No, no."
Smith's final Sunday at First Baptist Jackson will be on April 26 before he and wife, Toni, move on to their "new assignment," which they said they are trusting God for.
